Immigration & IRS News

"The Internal Revenue Service has announced initial plans for processing tax returns involving the Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit during the opening weeks of the 2017 filing season. The IRS is sharing the information now to help the tax community prepare for the 2017 season, and plans are being made for a wider communication effort this summer and fall to alert taxpayers about the changes that will affect some early filers..."

Filing Season Begins Monday, January 23

The IRS will begin accepting and processing returns on Monday, January 23, 2017. Returns transmitted to Drake before this date are being held in queue and will be transmitted to the IRS in the order they were received.Acknowledgements may be unpredictable in the first few days of the season, due to the high volume of returns being processed.You may re-transmit rejected returns as soon as you have them corrected and ready. Remember to check your acknowledgments ("acks") regularly. If you receive a "B" ack (issued instantly by Drake in place of a "P" - Pending ack), there was a problem with the return and it must be corrected and re-transmitted.

Refund Delays

The PATH Act of 2015 requires the IRS to hold refunds on returns claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and/or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) until February 15. The IRS is required to hold the entire refund — even the portion not associated with the EITC and ACTC — until at least February 15. The IRS cautions that these refunds likely won’t arrive in bank accounts or debit cards until the week of February 27 –- if there are no processing issues with the tax return and the taxpayer chose direct deposit.Where's My Refund? ‎on IRS.gov and the IRS2Go mobile app will be updated with projected deposit dates for early EITC /ACTC refund filers a few days after February 15. Taxpayers will not see a refund date on Where's My Refund? until then. Drake is not privy to any information on refund dates other than what is made available on Where's My Refund?.

ACA Resources

The ACA Tax Tool is now available on the HealthCare.gov website with up-to-date information for Tax Year 2016. Taxpayers receiving Form 1095-A for their marketplace insurance may now access information about their plans using this tool.